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Thursday, November 8, 2012

If I Had To Choose

If you follow my blog, you know there are two things that I love in this world. Well, there are a lot actually but the 2 foods I love the most are pancakes and burritos. If I had to live on them for the rest of my life, I could. No problem. But IF I had to choose...

I would choose burritos. I know, that's kind of cheating in a way because a burrito can have almost anything in it. For me, the 3 main ingredients are a tortilla, beans, and cheese and everything else is just a bonus.

For breakfast, I could have a burrito with scrambled eggs, potatoes, beans, and cheese.

For lunch, I could have a burrito with rice, beans, and cheese.

For dinner, I could have a burrito with steak, beans, and cheese.

Or mix them up with chorizo, chicken, carnitas...whatever sounds good...or just the good ole plain bean & cheese burrito. Or throw in some vegetables if I'm feeling guilty. See what I mean? You could totally live on burritos. Or at least I could.

As an added bonus, they're easy to carry for my bike or run commute!

The other day, I ran across an old address from my first apartment and it took me back 20 years to when I first moved out on my own. I was barely making enough to cover my apartment, utilities (sometimes), gas, and insurance and often times had very little left for food for me and my dog. Luckily, Tiny was a small dog and didn't eat a lot.

Sometimes, all I could afford was dog food for her and a bag of pinto beans for me for the week. And maybe some tortillas. Or if I was really lucky, my grandma would send me some. Anyway, I'd cook up the beans and that's what I would have for lunch and dinner that week (I didn't eat breakfast back then).

Yeah, I ate a LOT of beans. You'd think I would have gotten tired of them but I never did. Maybe because they are a part of my heritage and have been a staple at meals my whole life? Maybe because they are tied to happy memories of going to my grandma's house after school where she would make me a burrito for a snack? Seriously, NOTHING beats homemade tortillas fresh off the griddle with some home cooked beans. NOTHING.

Eventually, I started earning enough that I could buy "real" food for lunch and dinner (still wasn't eating breakfast though). Sadly, with more money in my pockets, I started eating out for every meal and McDonalds and Carl's and I became "fast" friends and that's when my weight really ballooned. Blimp size ballooned. The more money I had the more junk food I bought. In a way, I was better off with no money. Weight-wise, at least.

It's kind of ironic that now that I am back to a healthy weight, burritos have become my go to choice for lunch again, don't you think? Oh sure, I bought burritos back then too but I usually had them with fries and they were BIG. The ones I eat now are smaller and healthier although some would say the tortilla and cheese kind of negate that. I say...my grandpa is 89 and walks ever day and my great grandfather lived to 100 (and had a girlfriend when he died) and they ate tortillas every day of their life. So there.

Anyway...yeah...I run for burritos. Because really? Is a life without burritos worth living? I think not. ;)

Have a great weekend and good luck if you're racing! I will be running the Malibu Marathon on Sunday and I will be having pancakes or a burrito after to celebrate! :)

About Me

I am an ovarian cancer survivor, runner, an ultrarunner, & a cyclist. I've done 16 marathons, a bunch of half marathons, and 8 ultras (2 12HR races, 5 50Ks, and 1 100K)...so far.
2015 is my year of the PR! It's all about speed and fun!

Why a coyote?

Coyotes pop up periodically in my life-in my dreams and while I'm out running and riding. I think of them as a sign of good things to come. They are are smart, versatile, resourceful, mischievious, playfull, and fast and I hope to utilize all those traits to become the best runner I can be. Besides, chasing "road runners" is fun!